Together magazine speaks to Award-Winning author and artist, Ruth Chou Simons about her new book:
How is Beholding and Becoming different than your first book, GraceLaced? Do people need to have read GraceLaced to understand this book?
I like to think of Beholding and Becoming as the older, and wiser big sister to GraceLaced. While you absolutely don’t need to read one to understand the other, GraceLaced forms the foundation of key truths of who God is, who we are in Christ, how we can respond to Him, and what to remember when we’re weary – those are the four “seasons” in GraceLaced. Beholding and Becoming takes all those truths and more, and shows us how to apply them in the ordinary, oft-overlooked areas of our lives. Beholding and Becoming invites us to turn our gaze to God’s ways and purposes, and while doing so, fi nd ourselves transformed and changed in who we are becoming in the day-to-day.
Is there a particular theme to the art in this book?
Beholding and Becoming was created with the Art Nouveau movement from the late 19th century in mind. Artist William Morris, who greatly impacted that era, inspired my colour palette, pattern play, and desire to elevate ordinary elements as extravagant works of art. I wanted this book to feel like an invitation to linger long and to be steeped in beauty – the beauty we often miss.
The subtitle of your book is The Art of Everyday Worship; what is your definition of worship in this sense?
Worship is to give our love, praise, and greatest esteem to something. We show that esteem through time, attention, fixation, and affection. My goal is to show my reader that we are all worshippers – we must only choose what we love most, and how we fix our eyes in the everyday. The art of everyday worship is a call to see Jesus, and not our circumstances – to find Him and His purposes worthy of worship, and not ourselves.
This beautifully illustrated book is an intimate exploration of the many ways we can experience God more fully in our ordinary lives, with more than 850 beautiful pieces of original artwork done in Simons’ classic water colours. Simons challenges readers to turn their eyes from quick fixes, self-help, and the filtered highlight reels of social media.
Instead, she calls them to look to Christ to be transformed by setting their hearts, minds, and affections on Him, whatever their present circumstances may be. Celebrating the art of everyday worship, Simons walks her readers through different ways Christ reveals Himself in the day-to-day. Each of the sixteen chapters is broken into two sections; one section to focus on the theme of beholding Christ – finding Him in the everyday sagas and non Instagrammable moments; and the other on becoming – how Christ transforms us to be more like Him through it all. Each section contains a meditation to help readers create space for worship even in the seemingly mundane.
To accompany Beholding and Becoming is a Guide Companion; 144 pages of insightful study questions with room for notes, 50 scripture verses featured to encourage you to meditate and reflect on God’s work in your everyday life and Ruth’s intricate and uplifting handpainted artwork on every page.
What was your inspiration for the content of this book?
I wrote the book in response to the challenges I face every day to remember that Jesus is pursuing me in the ordinary, lessthan- exciting parts of my life. I so easily forget to look up and look to Him. 1 Corinthians 3:18, and the idea that we will be transformed into His likeness when we behold His glory – that is what I explore in this book, set in the context of 16 everyday struggles.
Describe the format of Beholding and Becoming – how is it designed to be read?
Beholding and Becoming is set up as 16 chapters, each comprised of 2 readings – duets that point us to what to behold, and then how to become. It can be read as a devotional, a personal study, or as a book you visit on occasion as you leave it on your coffee table.
Ruth Chou Simons is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and speaker. She shares her journey of God’s grace, intersecting daily life with word and paintbrush, through an online shop at GraceLaced.com and her Instagram community of more than a hundred thousand. Ruth’s first book, GraceLaced, won a 2018 Christian Book Award